Tony Bevilacqua

ServerBeach, the dedicated hosting provider for SpawnPoint.com, has released a fancy little gadget called the “mGuard Smart” [PDF]. The mGuard Smart is a single server hardware firewall. ServerBeach is currently offering this product on their Category 3 and Category 5 servers, in San Antonio, TX.

The mGuard Smart draws power from the servers USB, and replaces the ethernet that plugs into your server. The ethernet from the PEER 1 powered network is then plugged into the device, allowing filtering to occur before entering the server.

The mGuard smart is currently the smallest security device on the market, offering an extremely high degree of security and performance. It can be integrated anywhere both quickly and simply without modifications to the computer system, regardless of the processor technology or operating systems used.

The mGuard Smart, although small in nature, packs some serious punch; this is a shortlist of just SOME of it’s features: VPN, Configurable Firewall, Integrated AV Supporting HTTP, FTP, SMTP and POP3.

With the release of the new MacBook and MacBook Pro machines yesterday, I thought it would be helpful to go check out the iMac, and make sure there have been no changes. Low and behold, there was a change in price on the particular machine that I had purchased.

Put Apple to Work for You

Should Apple reduce its price on any shipped product within 10 days of shipment, you may contact Apple Sales Support at 1-800-MY-APPLE to request a credit of the difference between the price you were charged and the current selling price. To receive the credit you must notify Apple within 14 days of shipment. In the event a credit is given to you, the same credit card that you used to make your purchase will be credited.

The price difference was a mere $61, but none-the-less, this is money I paid, and could easily get back. I called Apple Support at 1-800-MY-APPLE - After collecting my order number, the agent quickly offered me the discount that I was looking for.

When purchasing hardware from a company like Apple, Dell, etc - Always check out the policies on price change. I did this well before my purchase of the iMac, it offers a certain satisfaction that I won’t be left completely screwed in the event of a price change.

Some companies may try to pull a fast one on you. Don’t accept no for an answer, if you are within their written policy! In Apple’s case, the agent quickly accepted my request, and put forward the refund. Nice Job Apple.

Are you on a server that shares it’s IP with many clients? Are you guaranteed a “dedicated IP” and not really sure if your host is really providing you with that service? MyIPNeighbors uses Reverse IP DNS technology to check the records that exist for your IP address.

This is a demonstration with tonybevilacqua.net, which is hosted on Site5.

Just a note on Site5, they have been a fantastic host, and I have been with them for several years. Recently I converted Lucas, a programmer for SpawnPoint over to Site5: “It’s one of most pleasant web hosting experiences I have ever had”. Anyway….

My Site5 package provides me with a dedicated IP address. I was humbled to see only domains that belong to me, pointed at this address. Although I have a dedicated IP address with my Site5 account, this is still hosted on shared hardware; nothing really interesting to see here.

This is a demonstration with toph.ca, which is hosted on MT.

Christoph hosts toph.ca on a Media Temple’s (gs) Grid-Service“. MT doesn’t provide a dedicated IP with his package - you can find out some interesting information with this tool… like who your IP neighbors are! In the query below for “toph.ca”, you can see a variety of other sites that are hosted at Media Temple.

This morning Apple announced the release of updated MacBook and MacBook Pro notebooks with the latest Intel Core 2 Duo processors, larger hard drives, and 2GB of memory standard in all models.

The new MacBook Pro is now boasting hot new NVIDIA graphics capability with up to 512MB of video memory. The highly acclaimed “Multi-Touch Trackpad” first seen in the MacBook Air at release, has been integrated into the MacBook Pro line, but not the MacBook line. [Edit]

The New MacBook

Featuring a gorgeous 13-inch glossy widescreen display, and with prices still starting at just $1,099, the new MacBook lineup comes in three models and includes faster processors and larger hard drives across the line; sleek white 2.1 GHz and 2.4 GHz models with 120GB or 160GB 5400 rpm hard drives and a stunning black 2.4 GHz model with a massive 250GB 5400 rpm hard drive, previously only available as an option. The 2.4 GHz MacBook models ship with 2GB of memory standard, expandable up to 4GB across the line.

The New MacBook Pro

The new MacBook Pro features the latest Intel Core 2 Duo technology with
up to a 2.6 GHz processor with 6MB of shared L2 cache; up to 4GB of 667 MHz
DDR2 SDRAM memory and up to a 300GB hard drive, plus NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
graphics with up to 512MB of video memory.

The 17″ MacBook Pro also incorporates an optional LED screen.

The new line is looking fantastic, and I’m excited to see what else is coming out Apple in the future… They have 1-1.5 years before I am going to want to drop a wad of cash on a MacPro and some massive screens.

I recently decided that I was going to start blogging again, and do something with the Tony Bevilacqua dot net site. I have set it up multiple times, and it has never really gone anywhere, I usually get distracted… lazy, you know, the usual…

Since getting my new mac, I have been working with a lot of great applications that have been created by the community, and specifically for this blog, a great little application called “MarsEdit 2” by Red Sweater.

Just a few of the features…

Intuitive Interface
MarsEdit’s no-nonsense interface works just like email. Edit your drafts in a convenient text editor, spell-check, and publish.

Wildly Compatible
Works with WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, Movable Type, LiveJournal, Drupal, and Vox. And that’s just to name a few.

Easy Uploads
Upload images and files directly to your weblog. When you want to reuse an item, just select it from the media catalog.

With it’s user friendly interface, 10 second setup and configuration, it’s definitely something that I would consider taking a look at. MarsEdit offers a 30 day trial for this application. If you have a Mac, and are on any of the above compatible platforms, I recommend checking it out!